Adamawa PDP crisis deepens as Aminu, Zwingina, others reject Sule Lamido committee

The aggrieved party members claim they were ignored by the reconciliation committee.

The crisis rocking the Adamawa State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has taken a new twist with a faction of the party denouncing the reconciliation committee set up by President Goodluck Jonathan to resolve it.
The committee headed by the governor of Jigawa State, Sule Lamido was mandated a few months ago by President Goodluck Jonathan to reconcile the two factions of the party in the state.
The two factions have different executive committees with the one loyal to the Adamawa State governor, Murtala Nyako, headed by Mijinyawa Kaugama while the other one is led by Joel Madaki. The latter was elected at a fresh congress conducted by the state chapter of the party following the sack of the Kaugama-led exco.
But the Madaki’s faction has dissociated itself from the Lamido Committee, complaining that it is biased.
In a letter to President Goodluck Jonathan dated March 12, 2013, the faction said it has no confidence in the reconciliation committee because it is about to submit its report without inviting it to make its presentation.
It also alleged that the Lamido Committee recommended its disbandment, adding that its members had looked forward with great expectation when he (Jonathan) set it up some months ago as a result of which it prepared a memorandum for submission.
The faction argued that the committee’s report would not be balanced because it took presentation from the Kaugama’s faction, which is loyal to Mr Nyako.
“However, after formally requesting for a meeting to present our case to the committee, which was duly acknowledged, we were surprised to learn that the committee had rounded up its assignment and is about to submit its report,” the letter said.
“We are convinced that taking the presentation from Governor Nyako and his supporters alone will not offer the committee a balanced position on the crisis.”
The Madaki-led faction stressed that its rival was discredited by INEC based on the fact that it was not elected but selected by Mr Nyako and that it is wrong to reinstate it (Kaugama-led faction).
It also wondered why it is being ignored even though it was the one approved by INEC.
According to the Madaki’s faction, “It is in this regard that we wish to dissociate ourselves from any report submitted by the Sule Lamido committee because we did not receive fair hearing and as a result the committee report is bound to be biased.”
Prominent members of the Madaki group who signed the letter to Mr Jonathan include Jubril Aminu, a former senator; Grace Bent, also a former senator; Haladu Hananiya, a retired army general; Dan Suleiman, a former ambassador; Jonathan Zwingina, a former senator; Paul Wampana, former leader of the party in North East zone; and Umar Ardo.
In separate protest letter to Mr Lamido, which was also signed by Mr Madaki; state secretary, Barrister Tahir Shehu and the other PDP stalwarts, the faction reminded the Jigawa State governor that his committee was constituted with a view to finding lasting solution to the crisis after hearing from both sides but that the committee failed to do so.
“To our greatest dismay after the Sule Lamido committee, even though have acknowledged our request to be heard, deliberately denied us audience. With this development we felt it is necessary to register our protest against the committee for taking one sided stand,” the faction told the governor in the letter.
“By this act we the undersigned believe that we cannot get justice from the committee and as such, we completely loss confidence on the committee.
“We therefore urge all concerned in our great party to disregard the findings of the committee and give no effect to whatever suggestion, advise or recommendation it may give since it is one sided and indeed against the principles of fair hearing, equity and good conscience.”